Summaries of Articles

Summaries of Articles

Article excerpt

It gives me great pleasure to introduce briefly a variety of interesting articles contained in this issue of North Korean Review.

Lankov and Kwak make unique contributions to the field of North Korean studies by examining the largely under-studied topic of the state surveillance system. Drawing on refugees' testimony and available publications, they trace the origin and the types of surveillance used by the "people's groups." Lankov and Kwak argue that the "people's groups," the primary means to control the populace, changed during the past two decades as state control began to disintegrate.

Wolman sheds an interesting light on the dynamics the North Korean escapees create between the U.S. judicial system and the Chinese asylum seekers who are threatened with torture or persecution for their role in helping North Korean escapees in China. The U.S. courts are beginning to show a greater acceptance of both the dangers faced by Chinese nationals suspected of assisting North Koreans and the political nature of their actions during 2009 and 2010. His analysis includes a caveat that inconsistency still remains on the fundamental question of whether Chinese authorities have engaged in the persecution of individuals who have assisted North Koreans, or whether they instead have legitimately prosecuted them pursuant to Chinese law.

Lee and Ulferts report on the case study of a major company in the Kaesong Industrial Complex in an effort to evaluate strategic planning in supply chain risk management. They identify the four supply chain risks (financial, operational, human resources, and information), and provide supply chain risk mitigation strategies to secure competitive advantage and future survival in the market.

Maass weighs the impact of economic isolation vis-à-vis diplomatic sanctions from the Pyongyang regime's perspective. By comparing Taiwan and North Korea, he argues that North Korea can manage economic isolation, while diplomatic sanctions can have more serious implications.

Kim and Lee shift our attention from the usual political liberalist thinking that economic interests would prevent the emergence of conflicts. …